Sacred groves, sacrifice zones and soy production: globalization, intensification and neo-nature in South America

Figures & data

Figure 1. Map of soy production in South America by volume, 2013.

Source: Elaborated by Valdemar Wesz Jr., Ben McKay, Gonzalo Colque, Efrain Tinta, and the authors from multiple sources.

Figure 2. Soybean production volume by continent, 1961–2015.

Source: Elaborated by the authors from United States Department of Agriculture data.

Table 1. Soybean area, volume and share of global production and exports in 2015.

	Country	Area (million ha)	Production (million metric tons)	Share of global production (%)	Share of global exports (%)*
1st	USA	33.4	106.88	33.54	35.96
2nd	Brazil	32.1	96.20	30.19	44.53
3rd	Argentina	19.3	60.80	19.08	7.69
4th	China	6.80	12.35	3.87	−63.75
5th	India	10.9	9.00	2.82	0.20
6th	Paraguay	3.24	8.10	2.54	3.63
7th	Canada	2.23	6.05	1.90	2.77
8th	Ukraine	1.80	3.90	1.22	1.91
9th	Uruguay	1.33	3.11	0.96	2.24
10th	Bolivia	1.08	2.65	0.82	0.21
11th	Russia	1.90	2.59	0.81	−1.35
12th	South Africa	0.69	1.06	0.33	−0.06
13th	Italy	0.32	0.90	0.28	n/a
14th	Nigeria	0.65	0.65	0.20	−0.08
15th	Indonesia	0.43	0.60	0.18	−1.67
16th	Serbia	0.18	0.44	0.14	−0.00
17th	Mexico	0.19	0.36	0.09	−3.25
18th	Japan	0.13	0.23	0.07	−2.38
20th	Iran	0.08	0.20	0.06	−0.76
20th	Burma	0.17	0.20	0.06	0.00
	Others	2.58	2.00	0.63	0.86

Source: USDA-FAS data, elaborated by the authors.

*Negative numbers are provided for net importers, indicating share of global imports.

Figure 3. Locus classicus of the so-called ‘United Soybean Republic’.

Source: Reproduced with permission from Grain 2013.

Figure 4. Soybean exports by continent, 1961–2015.

Source: Elaborated by the authors from United States Department of Agriculture data.

Figure 5. Soybean imports by continent, 1965–2015.

Source: Elaborated by the authors from United States Department of Agriculture data.

Table 2. Major pools de siembra and farm management companies in South America.

Name	Country/year established	Investors	Total ha controlled	Notes
Cresud/Brasilagro	Argentina, 1936 (restructured in 1959 when listed on the Buenos Aires Exchange)	Originally established by Credit Foncier (Belgium), purchased by the Dolphin Fund in 1994 (operated by Eduardo Elsztain), who remain its major shareholders and primary managers. In 2006, it created Brasilagro with JP Morgan Whitefriars (USA) and Credit Suisse (Switzerland).	Owns 866,215 ha in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia; 204,706 ha cultivated in 2015, including 77,179 ha on lease or concession.	Its main focus since 1994 has been the development of farmland for resale, and at its peak it owned over 1 million ha across four countries. Soybeans account for 56% of its crop production, while sugarcane and ranching cover 27% and 14%, respectively, of its land under production. In 2006, Cresud created Brasilagro as a public company listed on BM&F Bovespa to expand into Brazil.
Amaggi/Bom Futuro	Brazil, 1977, Bom Futuro becomes independent in 1993	Privately controlled by the Maggi family. The Amaggi Group is led by past governor and senator of Mato Grosso state, Blairo Maggi. Bom Futuro Group is owned by the Maggi Scheffer branch of the family, led by Blairo's cousin Eraí.	> 511,300 ha in Brazil; Amaggi: 252,300 ha (51,900 ha on lease); Bom Futuro: over 259,000 ha.	Largest private soybean producers in the world. The companies have also expanded to seed and fertilizer production, agricultural commodity storage and trading, fluvial navigation and hydroelectric energy production. Amaggi in particular participates in key joint ventures with Bunge and Louis Dreyfus for Amazon basin exports, and operates its own trading offices in Argentina, Paraguay, Norway, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Adecoagro	Argentina, 2002 (with the purchase of Pecom Agropecuária)	Soros Fund Management, Ospraie Management, Jennison Associates, Brandes Investment (USA), Stichting Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (Netherlands) and Qatar Holdings.	437,245 ha in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay; (124,412 ha leased for sugarcane, and 55,797 ha for soy).	In 2004, it began expanding to Uruguay and Brazil and diversifying from soy to sugarcane, rice, and dairy production and processing. In 2011, it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
SLC Agrícola	Brazil, 1945 (as Schneider Logemann & Co., producing agricultural machinery)	Black Rock, Neuberger Berman, Fidelity SelectCo, DFA Emerging Markets, Global Thematic Partners, Dimensional Fund (USA), Verde Asset Mgt. (Brazil), Deutsche Bank (Germany/China), Credit Suisse (Switzerland).	384,070 ha in Brazil; (75,871 ha leased).	SLC began producing soy in 1977 when it still focused on agricultural machinery production and a joint venture with John Deere, then divested from machinery production in 1989, and became listed on BM&F Bovespa in 2007. In addition to agricultural production, SLC also aims to profit from bringing ‘new' land into production for resale.
El Tejar/O Telhar	Argentina, 1987, moved headquarters to Brazil in 2013	Private company held by the Alvarado family, Altima Partners (UK) since 2006, the Capital Group (USA) since 2009, and other minor investors.	∼300,000 ha primarily in Brazil; ∼1,100,000 ha at its peak in 2010 across Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay (about 70% on leased land).	One of the creators of the pool de siembra model, the Alvarado family controlled the company until 2009, when majority shifted to its financial investors. It expanded into Brazil in 2003, buying its own farmland, but maintained leases for its expansion into Paraguay and Uruguay. However, the company abandoned this model, withdrawing from Paraguay in 2011, and from both Uruguay and Argentina in 2013, when it hired a Brazilian chief executive officer and shifted its headquarters to Brazil.
TIAA-CREF Global Agriculture	Brazil, 2008, via Radar and Tellus: 2012, as TCGA	TIAA Global Ag (US), Cosan (Brazil), AP2 (Sweden), Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, British Columbia Investment Management (Canada), Cummins UK Pension Plan Trustee, Greater Manchester Pension Fund (UK), New Mexico State Investment Council, Environment Protection Agency Pension Fund (USA).	> 230,000 ha in Brazil; Also owns land in the US and Australia, seeking investments in Chile, New Zealand, Central and Eastern Europe.	Led by one of the earliest and most aggressive pension funds to launch transnational farmland investments, the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund (USA), it joined the Brazilian sugar conglomerate Cosan in 2008 to purchase and lease farmland for sugarcane and soy production. By 2012, it already owned 151,468 ha, when it began expanding towards the northern Cerrado states, where it has been accused of involvement in illegal land grabs and violent dispossession of peasants.
V-Agro	Brazil, 2003, as Brazil EcoDiesel (BED); changed its name in 2011 merging with Vanguarda and Maeda Agronegócios	BED was composed by BT Global, Zartman, Boardlock, and Carleton Towers (USA), Deutsche Bank (Germany), BMG (Saudi Arabia), Nelson Silveira, Bradesco, Fibra, Bonsucex, and Banco Fator (Brazil). Current main shareholders: Fim CP Veritas, Gávea Investmentos, Bonsucex, EWZ Holding, and Pollus Capital (Brazil).	224,317 ha in Brazil;(135,220 ha leased).	BED was the leading biodiesel producer in Brazil at the time of its merger with Vanguarda and Maeda (with the capacity for producing 700,000 m^3 of biodiesel per year); since then V-Agro has become listed on BM&F Bovespa, divested from biodiesel processing, and focused on soy production, and also began operations to develop farmland for resale.
MSU	Argentina, 1985, 1997, as pool de siembra	Private company held and managed by the Uribelarrea family, with Stitchtings Pensioenfonds ABP (Netherlands) and other foreign minority investors since 2007.	210,000 ha in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.	Originally as Juamarita SA operating on 15,000 ha of private land, MSU began leasing farmland in 1997. In 2007, it created Santa Juana Ltd. as a land acquisition company to expand from Argentina to neighboring countries. In 2012 its main creditors were Banco Galicia and Hypotecario (Argentina), and Itaú (Brazil), accounting for about 42% of its loans. It has also established subsidiaries for agricultural aviation, poultry and egg production, farm management and bioenergy.
Los Grobo	Argentina, 1984	The Grobocopatel family are the major shareholders and primary managers, but multiple minority partners and joint ventures have been incorporated for specific operations, such as UPJ in Argentina, Tierra Roja in Paraguay, ADP in Uruguay, and Pactual Capital/Vinci Partners in Brazil.	Currently leases ∼100,000 ha in Argentina; At its peak it leased ∼320,000 ha in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay in 2010/2011.	One of the creators of the pool de siembra model, it began leasing farmland in 1987. In 2004 it expanded to Uruguay, in 2005 to Paraguay, and in 2008 to Brazil. In 2013, it sold its Brazilian subsidiary to Mitsubishi (from Japan) and withdrew from Paraguay, and in 2015, it sold its participation in ADP to its Uruguayan partners. It has shifted its focus from agricultural production (only accounting for 15% of revenues by 2014) to focus on agroindustrial processing, financing and trading.

Source: Elaborated by the authors from company websites, stock exchange reports and other sources.

Figure 6. Soy production in Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia, 1970–2014.

Source: Elaborated by the authors from United States Department of Agriculture data.

Figure 7. Soy production in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, 1970–2014.

Source: Elaborated by the authors from United States Department of Agriculture data.

Grain. 2013. The United Republic of Soybeans: Take two. Against the Grain, June. Barcelona: Grain.

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